Mage: the Cabal of Visionairies
In 1642, the Dutch Republic has never been stronger — yet the Ascension War rages on. Will you reshape the course of history, or get dragged undertow?
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SYSTEM
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EXPERIENCE
AGE
$30.00
/ Session
Details
2 players following this game
Weekly / Sunday - 12:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
2 / 5 Seats Filled
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One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.
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Meet your party members
2/5
About the adventure
As a Mage in our "Cabal van Visionairen", you and your companions will will spread belief in the fantastical; clash against the Order of Reason; and safeguard humanity against the predators of the Night — all beneath the shadow of the world's first-ever multinational corporations. Disclaimer: This 17th-century-inspired campaign is set in an alternative history of Darkness. Some real-world dates and events may be adjusted. Historic knowledge a plus but not required! In our timeline: the Crusades have ended, but the Order of Reason still hunts those who wield Magick. Among the Traditions of the Awakened, factions agree on grand ideas yet feud over the details. Among the Sleepers, war tears throughout Europe, yet the trade of spices, grains, and lumber keep the Dutch economic engine booming like never before. Your character has the opportunity to: build a trade empire; forge peace deals; engage in politics (or not); sway Sleepers to your will; and fight against (or deal with) both criminals and corporations, the likes of which the world has never seen before! In this campaign, you will: - 🇳🇱 Experience Amsterdam in the 17th century - 🪄 Cast Magick using the freeform system of Mage: the Ascension - ⚖ Conduct business during wartime commerce - 🧚 Investigate, root out, and perhaps even negotiate with vampires, werewolves, fae, and other strange creatures - 🌀 Fight to control (or create!) your own Wellsprings of power - 💬 Spread the influence of your Tradition, by exposing your paradigm to the Sleepers - 🌷Plant, sell, and invest in Tulips
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Puzzle / Mystery Focused
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(28)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
83 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Teacher, Inclusive
Average response time: 4 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
Hi, I'm Nicole! I'm an RPG blogger and professional GM/Storyteller from the Netherlands. I've played TTRPGs for over twenty years now, and I've GM'd for the greater part of that, with long-time experience covering Pathfinder & Starfinder; Daggerheart; World of Darkness games including Vampire, Hunter, and Mage; plus other titles like Fate, Dungeon World, and Blades in the Dark. All my adventures are handmade, giving me a deep personal connection to every campaign I run and the characters in them. Make an impact — change the worlds you play in! Additionally, my games are always new-player friendly. See a game you're interested in, but haven't played before? Send me a message!
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
If you are a veteran of Mage lore, welcome! Pick any of the founding-members of the Nine Traditions. (Virtual Adepts and Sons of Ether aren't applicable here.) For everyone else — also welcome! Come up with an exciting concept for a human with magical talent. What is magic to them? Do they channel from gods, or do they channel the forces of nature? Are they a magickal martial artist, or do they speak in dreams (and/or drugs)? We will fill-in the character sheets together at Session 0.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You'll want to join our Discord server, at https://discord.gg/aQynTS3M4s . From there, message me (@Nicole) and I'll tag you into our campaign space! We will play on Alchemy VTT, you will need a (free) account at https://app.alchemyrpg.com/ . I will provide our table link at Session 0 and via Discord!
What Nicole brings to the table
For this campaign, I provide an organic, handcrafted world, and I can't wait to see how you live in (and change) it. I've written a story, but there aren't (many) rails on how to get there. This story is a fully-unique experience for our table! I'm big on immersive worlds. This plays to my strengths as an improv-storyteller: I front-load the worldbuilding and the characters, so that how characters respond and react is unique and genuine. As I like to say — catch me off-guard, I dare you!
Homebrew rules
We are playing with a campaign-custom mix of "Mage 20th Anniversary" and "Vampire V5". Specifically, we are using V5's skills and attributes lists, but M20 for magick and setting-design. Casting Magick will typically involve a dice pool of Arête plus a Skill. Characters will have ranks in "Spheres" as normal for M20, and may accrue Paradox Dice (new) when casting vulgar magicks, which can backlash or dissipate. Exact rules will be pinned to our Discord channel.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Nicole creates a safe table
In Mage, we play characters with a hopeful, optimistic view of a broken world that we can (and should) fix. There will be lots of injustices in the world — and you have the power to change it! That being said, we're all people. We're human beings who agree to hang out and spend time together in a fantastical world of our imagination. And with that, comes an understanding that we all have backgrounds and experiences that aren't all the same. When you join, we will go over Lines & Veils in a safe, private manner. Then, I'll collate each player's documents into a single group sheet (with names removed), so we can agree to the boundaries of our campaign. A full run-down of our safety tools will be discussed at Session 0, and will be available for review at any time.
Content warnings
Safety tools used